Snapchat Transforms New Grads Into Paper Millionaires

Most recent college graduates would be thrilled just to get a job fresh out of school. If it pays the bills and makes a dent in those student loans, so much the better. But for some graduates of select engineering schools like Stanford, going to work at Snapchat will do more than just make ends meet.

“This year, [Snapchat is] offering seniors and finishing graduate students salaries between $100,000 and $150,000 and $300,000 in stock grants that vest over four years,” writes Nicholas Carson at Business Insider. “That’s down from last year, when Snapchat would offer students $400,000 in stock.”

Carson notes that last year’s crop of new Snapchat engineers are most likely already millionaires on paper.

If that sounds outrageous, keep in mind that many tech companies make similar offers to elite STEM grads:

Facebook: In 2012, an anonymous user on Quora said that he/she was offered a job as a software engineer at Facebook: “I am graduating in the spring of 2012, and I was offered $100,000 in salary, a $50,000 signing bonus, $5,000 in relocation, and as [much stock] as necessary to be worth $120,000.” PayScale’s Research Center shows an overall salary range of $98,633 – $181,448 for engineers at that company. Facebook’s perks include an onsite bike repair shop, no-cost computer accessories from vending machines accessible by swipecard, a candy shop, and a classic video arcade.

Twitter: Software engineers at all levels make a median of $122,271 per year, according to PayScale’s Research Center. Some of Twitter’s perks include an onsite gym offering Crossfit and yoga, free massages, and beer and kombucha on tap.

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Jen Hubley Luckwaldt

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt writes about work-life balance, stress management, and other topics relating to what makes us happy at work. A full-time freelancer, she deals with stress by blurring the lines between life and work to the point where the two spheres are barely separate. The happiest day of her career was when scientists proved that looking at pictures of cute animals makes us more productive.